OTTAWA, ON: Heritage Toronto wasted nearly $2,000 on a plaque to memorialize a raccoon that died in 2015, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

“It’s ridiculous for the City of Toronto to spent thousands of dollars on a plaque honouring a dead raccoon that briefly became internet famous a decade ago,” said Noah Jarvis, CTF Ontario Director. “Is the city going to hand out thousands of taxpayer-funded plaques to all the raccoons that died since 2015? What’s next, flowers for dead pigeons and obituaries for dead squirrels?

“This is a prime example of bureaucrats wasting taxpayer funds on projects nobody needs.”

Heritage Toronto bureaucrats proposed the idea of creating a plaque for “Conrad the Raccoon” in 2024 to commemorate a raccoon that died in 2015 and was given a faux memorial with flowers and candles on a city sidewalk.

About 4,000 dead raccoons are recovered by Toronto Animal Services, yet Conrad the Raccoon is the only dead raccoon to be commemorated with a plaque. 

The city paid $1,936 for the plaque, which includes the cost of graphic design, copy editing services and the fabrication of the plaque, according to documents obtained by the CTF through a freedom of information request.

Pet memorial plaques are readily available for less than half the price.

Heritage Toronto is an agency of the City of Toronto that receives nearly half of its budget directly from taxpayers. 

“It’s bad enough that bureaucrats wasted money on a plaque for a dead raccoon, but they spent twice as much as a plaque should cost,” said Jarvis. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to prop-up a government agency that’s overpaying for silly plaques, especially when city politicians are begging for the provincial and federal governments for more handouts.

“Toronto bureaucrats need to cut wasteful spending.”